Williamson school board may allow only local residents to give public comments

Dec. 3, 2013

Written by

Maria Giordano

The Tennessean

FRANKLIN — Williamson County school officials, concerned that advocacy groups are getting more face time at school board meetings than residents, are considering a policy that would limit public input at meetings to county residents only.

School officials say there is not one particular reason for the proposal, which has received first-reading approval, except to say that a least a couple of school board members were concerned that county residents were not being heard.

County school board meetings set aside a 15-minute period for public comment at each regularly scheduled meeting. For the policy to be changed, the school board would have to approve the measure on a second reading, which will be voted on at its January meeting.

“We want to hear from our constituents, the people we represent,” board member Janice Mills said. As a member of the policy committee, she said, there was little discussion on the matter.

Williamson County Schools public meetings have been a lightning rod of sorts for various topics in the past year. The most recent has been a debate about bias in textbooks, which attracted residents and advocacy groups from Davidson County.

As the process stands now, anyone interested in speaking to the school board during public input must sign up to speak before its 6:30 p.m. meetings. Requests to speak are taken up in the order they appear on the sign-up sheet.

Policy says that comments should be limited to 1½ minutes per person or group, and a timer is set for each speaker with a board member holding up signs to indicate when one minute is up.

No input required

Lee Harrell, director of government relations, labor relations and policy for the Tennessee School Board Association, says there is no law requiring public input at school board meetings. But Harrell said few school boards restrict input at all because they want participation.

School districts do have a structure for public input, but most are not limited to residents only, Harrell said. Neither Metro Nashville Public Schools nor the Franklin Special School District restricts public comments. Sumner County Schools limits public input to agenda items only.

“If the board feels their constituents are getting disenfranchised, I would understand,” he added. “You would want to hear from the parents and taxpayers of the district.”

Williamson County school board member Rick Wimberly says he’s still undecided on the issue, but he agrees that residents shouldn’t be shut out just because someone else signed up to speak earlier. But he was quick to point out that public input was not the only way to reach members of the board.

“That’s just a little 15 minutes of our lives,” Wimberly said. “The board is very accessible.”